In recent years, image sensing apparatuses such as digital cameras and digital video cameras that can sense an image with a simple operation and convert that sensed image into digital image data have come to be widely used. As a result, opportunities for viewing still images and moving images sensed with a digital camera or a digital video camera on PC display monitors and TV screens, as well as printing them using lab print services or home personal printers, have increased.
Further, with recent advances in technical performance of digital cameras, those that combine not only still image sensing but also moving image sensing capabilities as well are becoming common.
Under these circumstances, conventionally one went to a print shop and used the negative film or an index print to specify in handwriting the information for creating prints, such as the frames one wanted to print and the number of such frames, printing the date, and so forth. In recent years, it has become possible to set this sort of information in one's own digital camera and directly record to removable media such as a memory card. This capability enables printing to be done automatically according to specification, simply by attaching the removable media to a printer. Rather than printing each image one at a time while checking the digital image on the digital camera or the printer, this can save time and trouble, and reduce the burden on the user.
In order to achieve the above-described capability, a standard called DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) is known. DPOF is a format that, in order to achieve the merits to the user described above, takes automatic print information, such as the number of prints, the size, whether not to include the date, titles, trimming, etc., and stores it together with an image file on the removable media to be utilized when printing.
DPOF, which is currently widely known, assumes that that which is to be printed is a still image, and has the following types of prints:
Standard Print . . . 1 image file laid out per 1 print.
Index Print and Multiple Image Print . . . A plurality of image files laid out per 1 print.
Specific Size Print . . . 1 image file laid out per 1 print, but the image size is specified.
Then, the automatic print information is stored in a text file, and the file that stores that information is called a DPOF file.
In addition, recently, a direct printing system has been developed that enables digital image data to be transferred directly from the digital camera to a printer and printed without going through a PC. Moreover, printers have also been developed in which images sensed with a digital camera are saved to a medium such as a memory card, the medium is attached directly to the printer, and the images stored in the medium are printed.
Further, there is also a need for moving image printing, to print not only still images but also frames of moving images. A technique directed to printing moving images is proposed in Patent Document 1, for example. Moreover, a technique that is included in printing of moving images in DPOF is proposed for example in Patent Document 2.
In addition, in Patent Document 3, a technique is disclosed in which interframe difference values are continuously calculated and a timing of a change in scene of the moving image is extracted.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-040393    Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-251573    Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-080599